Experimental study of synthetic polymeric materials as a basis for developing advanced carrier matrices for cultivating limbal stem cells

Objective: to conduct an experimental study on the properties of three different types of synthetic polyester matrices, to carry out their comparative assessment, and to identify the optimal carrier for the cultivation and transplantation of limbal stem cells while eliminating limbal insufficiency. Materials and methods. Transparency, mechanical properties (strength, relative elongation at break, and elastic modulus), biocompatibility with corneal cell cultures were assessed, and duration of matrix biodegradation in vivo were studied. Results. In the course of our study, the optical and mechanical properties of matrices, made of polylactide-glycolide (PLG), polylactide-caprolactone (PLC) and poly-E-caprolactone (PCL), were studied. It has been experimentally shown that limbal stem cells of humans and rabbits, as well as human corneal epithelial cells, adhered to the surface of all types of the studied matrices. During the cultivation process, they retained the typical structure of the actin cytoskeleton, along with the ability to proliferate and migrate. Differences in the interaction of different cell cultures with different types of carriers were revealed. The biodegradation time of 5 μm thick PLC matrices was about 30 days. Conclusion. Our results obtained implied the possibility of using 5 µm thick PLC matrices as a carrier for cultured limbal stem cells.